


Burning Love

by calaofnoldor



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, M/M, Pining, protective!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27390388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calaofnoldor/pseuds/calaofnoldor
Summary: Could a hunt gone wrong be just the push you need to finally confess your love for the older Winchester?
Relationships: Dean Winchester & You, Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean Winchester/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	Burning Love

**Author's Note:**

> also on [tumblr](https://calaofnoldor.tumblr.com/post/633897534533844992/burning-love) (with gifs!)

“Are you sure you wanna come with us, Y/N?” Dean was packing his duffle as he pestered you yet again, “You know, you can always sit this one out?”

“In your dreams, Winchester.” You tried to keep your tone light although in truth, you were feeling somewhat apprehensive about this hunt.

Bobby had been tipped off by an anonymous hunter that children were going missing in a small town in Nebraska, so the three of you decided to check it out. While all signs pointed towards a ghoul with a fetish for tender meat, there were still some intimations that didn’t quite add up, and it was triggering alarm bells in your head.

You weren’t about to tell Dean that though. You knew the man was too stubborn to back down, and you sure as hell weren’t about to let him go in there without your help.

“I mean, it’s probably a ghoul, right? And that’s nothing we haven’t dealt with before.” You sent him a small, reassuring smile, “Besides, if things go sideways, who’d be there to save your ass?”

Dean chuckled before the two of you walked out the door to meet Sam, who was already waiting by the car. You smiled at the younger Winchester as well, but it did nothing to dissipate the feeling of unease settled deep within your core, which lingered throughout the entire ride.

Staring at the back of Dean’s head, you couldn’t help but yearn for a certain sense of closeness with the older Winchester. You had developed a crush on him the moment you met (I mean, who could blame you?), but in the time you’d been hunting with the brothers, your feelings had inevitably and inexorably grown to a level that shocked and oftentimes overwhelmed even yourself.

He was the best man you’d ever met, and each time he denied it, your heart ached desperately. You wanted to scream at him, to flamboyantly declare your love and adoration for him and use it to show him how wrong he was. But the idea of being rejected petrified you, so you kept you mouth shut and carried on, watching as he flirted with anything else that moved.

Still, you fantasized about holding his hands, how rough his calluses would feel beneath your fingertips, dreamed about his plump pink lips descending upon your own, and imagined riding next to him in the front seat of Baby, cuddled up and enjoying the sounds of his favorite classic rock tunes.

But deep down, you knew. You knew that he would never look at you the way you wanted him to, for he was Dean Winchester and you were just you. He was much too good for you, too noble, too valiant, too implausible, too unattainable, too damn good-looking.

And right now, he was being too brash, too pigheaded to slow down and take a moment to consider the potential outcome of what you were getting into.

So when the Impala pulled up to your destination and you set your eyes upon the old, dilapidated two-storey house where you believed the missing children were being held, that sense of trepidation in your gut only intensified. But you steeled your nerves at once and put your best ‘hunter face’ on as you climbed out the backseat.

“You guys know the drill. Sam, you take the back door; Y/N and I will go in through the front.” Dean ordered while handing out weapons from Baby’s trunk.

You nodded and Sam began his trek across the overgrown weeds. Dean, however, loitered for a brief moment, then met your eyes with purpose. Something glimmered behind his incredibly green orbs, something raw and ardent, but you didn’t get a chance to read into it before he gave a final nod of his own and took off, that classic stoic expression returning to his handsome features.

You got the feeling he wanted to tell you something, but now was certainly not the time to overthink it. With a frown, you followed his footsteps, gripping your pistol a little tighter.

The inside of the house was just as battered as its exterior. You swung your weapon about, checking all the visible corners, before slowly creeping in. It was deadly silent and despite straining your ears, you couldn’t hear anything akin to the sounds of children being eaten or locked up against their will. Perhaps you were too late?

After a full scan of the building, the three of you met in what must have once been the kitchen area of the house.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

“Something’s off,” you proffered, though you didn’t get to elaborate because just then, a strong wind hurtled through and slammed the front door shut.

Dean was instantly in front of you, his arms outstretched and held back as if to keep you behind him and shield you from any oncoming force.

You all knew that had been no ordinary gust of wind. There was something more powerful at play here, something much more eerie.

“Maybe it isn’t a ghoul,” Sam surmised beside you.

You nodded, looking around for any clues as to what you were facing. It was then that you noticed a faint white line beginning to form on the broken hardwood planks around your feet, precisely where you and the brothers stood…

“It’s a trap! Guys, it’s a trap!” You shouted, but it was too late. A figure appeared before you, dressed in long black robes, a hood fell over its eyes.

You gripped Dean’s canvas jacket-clad arm, wanting to stand beside him, but he wouldn’t budge and only pushed you further behind him.

“Who the hell are you? Or should I say, _what_ the hell are you?” Dean’s gruff voice demanded.

The reply came in the form of a screeching cackle that caused you to wince involuntarily.

“You hunters always think you’re so clever, but where are those wits now, huh?” A shrill, feminine voice pierced the air and you almost recoiled behind Dean some more.

“I’m gonna ask you again, lady, who the hell are you?” Dean repeated through gritted teeth, his right hand reaching for his gun.

“I’ll admit, last week when you killed my entire coven, that was rather crafty. But you see, you made a mistake, because you should never leave a job unfinished.”

A lump had formed in your throat by the time you realized what was happening. Memories of incinerating a basement full of witches flooded your brain as you tried to piece together all the previous data. The missing children must have been a ruse, a simple guise to lure you in.

But how did she plan to kill you? A single-minded revenge would dictate that you suffer the same fate as her fallen brethren, to burn to death. Your mind was whirling as you realized the house was made primarily of wood, and along with its grassy surroundings, created the perfect setting for a disastrous fire.

“You killed my family, took everything from me,” Another magical breeze withdrew her hood and unveiled the severe burn scars underneath. There was a large bald patch atop her head where the hair must have been burned off, and the skin around one of her eyes was wrinkled and deformed, drooping so heavily it must have rendered that eye useless. “And now, you’ll watch as I do the same.”

“Sam! Y/N! Run!”

You knew what Dean was thinking. He wanted you and Sam to run to safety, grab the witch-killing bullets while he fended her off alone. But that wasn’t going to happen, not on your watch.

By your calculations, the witch was sure to seal all the exits (if she hadn’t already) just as you had done a week prior, making your only possible route of escape through the glass windows. So, as she began to chant in Latin, you immediately took aim and fired two well-placed shots that shattered the windows, one in the front and one in the back.

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean emptied their barrels at the witch herself, and although the bullets did little to maim her, they were enough to cause a distraction and slow her progress.

You could see the fire begin to rise from the floorboards beneath your feet, where you first noticed the outlines appear, and quickly took a step back. Sam went with you, but Dean was unrelenting in his attack. The blaze was rapidly growing, and you watched, frozen in fear, as he recognized the gravity of the situation, the lack of options, before charging headfirst at the witch.

“DEAN!” You and Sam roared in unison.

He tackled her to the ground and began wrestling with her on the floor. A sudden burst of flames encircled their bodies and you and Sam could only look on helplessly as the fire forced you to retreat further.

Luckily, it seemed the witch hadn’t the forethought to conjure a strength-enhancing spell, and Dean was currently managing to keep the upper hand.

"GO!" He cried out.

“No! I’m not leaving you! Dean!” You hollered frantically, but the fire was expanding at much too swift a rate and you and Sam were nearly at the back door. The smoke had also accumulated, and it was becoming difficult to see more than a few feet ahead of you. You covered your mouth, coughing violently. 

"I said, GO!" You could hear the resolution in his voice, and you had never hated it more. Although the heat was becoming unbearable, you wouldn’t let it break your own resolve.

Sam, however, could see that there was no way for either of you to help Dean. He tugged on your hand and hauled you out the back window.

As you landed on the grass, you turned around just in time to see the entire house come alight in fiery outburst.

“NO! DEAN!" You lunged towards the building, but Sam grabbed you around the waist and held you back, though it took even all of his strength.

"Sam, let me go! Let me go! No!"

Your heart-wrenching pleas brought tears to Sam's eyes as you fought against his hold. It had always been clear to him that you loved his brother, but he didn't realize just how much until this very moment.

"Y/N, you can't go back in there."

"No! Sam, I have to. I have to! Let go!" You didn't stop struggling within his arms.

"Y/N, stop! I can't let you go. Dean would kill me." You quieted a little at his words, allowing him to pull you back towards the street.

"No. No, no, no. I can't... He can't..." You fell to your knees on the pavement, taking Sam with you, as he refused to let go, fearful of what you might try if he loosened his hold. A broken sob shook your defeated form and Sam tried to soothe you despite the pain in his own heart.

Nearly a century passed as the two of you stayed crouched together in despair. But eventually, a startling, miraculous sound of heavy boots crunching against dry leaves drew your attention.

Looking up, you instantly rose to your feet. Your eyes could hardly believe the sight. It was Dean, walking towards you in his undershirt and jeans. He must have lost his jacket and flannel to the fire, though he was still covered in soot, and he wore an expression ever so stolid, but it only seemed to make him more devastatingly beautiful.

Without a single thought, you ran. You ran as if your life depended on it. And in a way, it did. When you reached the end of your sprint, you leaped into his arms and Dean caught you, also without a single thought, as if it were natural, as if he expected it, as if you belonged there.

Your legs wrapped around his waist and your arms locked around his neck, holding on for dear life whilst burying your face into his neck. Though your body still rattled with sobs, you tried to soak up all of him, to appreciate the solidity of his frame against yours, to relish in the softness of his t-shirt, to savor his delectable, musky scent, which even a house fire could not completely mask, to simply revel at the fact that you were in his arms.

“I thought you were gone,” you whispered against his pulse when the tears finally began to subside, your lips moving to his jaw as you squeezed your eyes shut and ran your hands through the fine hair on the back of his head. In your dazzled state of elation, it never occurred to you that this might have been deemed inappropriate, that you’d never touched him so intimately before.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, sweetheart.” His deep voice rasped.

“The witch?”

“Dead,” he confirmed.

Something overcame you in that moment and you suddenly couldn't hold it in any longer, "I love you." You waited a beat, face still pressed against his collarbone, terrified of his response.

"I know."

You finally pulled back to look him in the eyes, "Really? You’re gonna ‘Han Solo’ me right now?”

Dean released a dry laugh, his boyish charm peeking out a little. "I'm sorry, I love you too. That's why I didn't want you to come; I had a bad feeling about this place."

"And you ran in there anyway?!" You smacked him in the shoulder, but his hold on you didn’t falter.

"I couldn't just let those kids die." He shook his head, eyes shining with an enchanting sincerity, entreating your forgiveness.

"Dean Winchester, always too heroic for your own good… You’ll be the death of me, I swear it.” You confided quietly.

“I’d really rather keep you alive. I’ve got plans for you.”

“Oh yeah? What kinda plans?”

“The kind that involve things like this,” he muttered before diving in and kissing you senseless. Your mouths moved in perfect harmony, better than your wildest dreams had conceived. He grunted lightly and you wanted to hear it again, to sample all of the sounds he could make, sounds that you could bring forth from those godly lips.

“I’ve wanted to do that since the day I met you.” He admitted breathlessly when you finally pulled away.

You exhaled a small laugh, barely believing your ears, “Me too.” Then you tilted your head, aiming for another mind-blowing articulation of all your pent-up emotions.

"Um, guys?” Sam’s slightly amused voice cut in, “I mean, I’m happy for you and everything, but do you think maybe we should leave the crime scene before you two finish consummating this relationship on the side of the road?"

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! btw, if any of y’all dean girls/boys are looking for a way to proudly display your alliance to team squirrel, there’s a variety of ‘deano the squirrel’ prints currently available on [redbubble](https://www.redbubble.com/people/lexicolor/shop?asc=u&ref=account-nav-dropdown)! customizations/requests are always welcome! simply pop me a message! ❤️
> 
>   
> 


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